Gavinivaripalem is a panoramic village amidst lush green farms, huge pond, simple dwellings, two temples and caressed by gentle breeze coming from the ocean. It’s relatively a new village formed with just a few families choosing to settle there just a few decades ago. Now it’s flourishing with about four thousand population, huge arable land, lovely cows and many buffaloes. The main crops grown here are paddy, peanuts, corn, ragi, pulses and many varieties of vegetables.
The villagers faithfully worship Lord Krishna. Every week on Saturday about seventy people assemble in the temple to perform 3-4 hours bhajans glorifying Krishna in the local language. However, they superstitiously believe Lord Krishna to come into the body of one 15-year old village boy once a week and even answer their queries. Saying anything against this belief means challenging their strong faith and taking the bull by its horns. It may also mean complete repulsion to what we have to offer them. It thus demands delicate handling. People in general are more comfortable with opting for temporary quick-fix solutions rather than to strive to get rid of all problems altogether. Thus, preaching here has always been wrought with some hiccups.
Devotees from ISKCON Chirala have already been conducting a couple of programs here since some time. It was therefore not a completely alien turf for the Yatra devotees. The Sri Govind Gau Gram Prachar Yatra team reached the village at about 4.30 pm on January 4, 2016. They found the village environ very soothing especially after having passed through the bustling towns before arriving there. The local villagers welcomed the Yatra devotees by offering them refreshing coconut water and three varieties of fruits. Not so later, a small group of Yatra devotees left for the ‘gram sankirtan’ while others worked on readying the venue for the program. Go puja was conducted in all solemnity with good participation from the villagers. The rest of the program went on peacefully in the expected manner. One good thing observed was the children. They were very attentive to what was being spoken and shown to them; also they were well disciplined. While maha-arati and kirtan was going on, suddenly one lady went hysterical. However, it did not interfere with the program. She didn’t disturb others and later she was also fine and normal. After the formal proceedings of the program, there was good interaction with the villagers, especially the youth who showed interest in chanting the mahamantra and also adopt the practices of cow-based organic agriculture.
After distribution of prasadam, just as the Yatra bus was ready to leave, it broke down. Simultaneously, the power supply also failed in the village. The devotees were caught off guard in the enveloping darkness, situated far from their ‘planned’ retiring place and with ‘broken-down bus. However, they found themselves surrounded by well-wishing villagers. They assisted Chari, the Yatra bus driver and were also successful in finally fixing the problem. After an hour of commotion, the Yatra devotees were again on the wheels as the villagers gave them a warm send off. Finally, the Yatra team returned to Chirala ISKCON temple to rest for the night and then again travel to new village the next day.
Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!
Sri Govind Gau Gram Prachar Yatra ki Jai!!
Reported by: Hari Kirtan Das from Hyderabad
